Thursday, March 26, 2009

Thirty-seven years ago, three individuals in Stillwater, Oklahoma, challenged a state law that allowed females aged 18–20 to purchase beer of 3.2 % alcohol while males could not purchase beer until age 21. The law was challenged by two underage men, Mark Walker and Curtis Craig, who were joined by a female beer vendor, Carolyn Whitener. By the time the case was argued before the US Supreme Court, both men had turned 21 so only Carolyn Whitener was ruled to have standing.

Whitener and the two male students sued the Oklahoma Attorney General, the Oklahoma Legislature and the Oklahoma Governor for enforcing a law that, they argued, discriminated based on gender. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Whitener by ruling unconstitutional all laws advantaging one sex. A new equal protection standard had been established - gender. Craig v. Boren has been cited routinely in constitutional sex discrimination cases ever since. To read more, click HERE and HERE. Also see http://static.newsok.biz/sites/nie/educational_programs/women_lesson4.pdf/.

M. Susan Savage was appointed Oklahoma Secretary of State by Governor Brad Henry on January 13, 2003. In that capacity, she serves as a member of the Governor’s cabinet with broad policy duties and as a Constitutional officer with responsibility for international relations, maintenance of the state’s registry of official records and policy oversight for several state agencies. Prior to that she served as mayor of Tulsa from 1992 to 2002. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Municipal League Hall of fame for City and town Officials in 2005. was the 2002 national Conference of community and justice honoree for leadership. She received an honorary degree of laws in 2000 from Aradia University and is a past recipient of the Oklahoma Human Rights Award.

Marabeau Lamar Looney was born in 1871 in Talladega, Alabama. She and her husband D.T. "Doc" Looney moved to Oklahoma Territory (now Greer County). In 1900, her husband of 12 years died suddenly leaving her with five children under the age of ten. She moved to Hollis and worked as a music teacher, a postmistress and was elected in 1912 registrar of deeds for Harmon County. She went on to be elected county treasurer, county clerk and, in 1920, the first woman elected to the Oklahoma Senate. At age 52, she was admitted to the Oklahoma bar. After serving 3 terms in the State Senate, in 1926 Mrs. Looney considered running for Lieutenant Governor but abandoned the idea because the Oklahoma constitution barred women from holding the office. Instead, she ran for the U.S. Senate, lost that race but won her fourth and final term in the Oklahoma Senate in 1927. As a Senator, Looney pushed for legislation that would allow women to serve in all state offices but didn't live to see that come about. She was worked actively for women's right to vote. She died September 3, 1935. To read more click HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE. Looney dies in 1935 and was inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame on March 26, 2009.

Oklahoma’s current First Lady Kim Blaine Henry was born in Norman Oklahoma. Her family moved to Shawnee when she was 5 years old. She was a classroom teacher for 10 years at her alma mater, Shawnee High School, where she taught Oklahoma History, Economics, Government, and Advanced Placement American History. In 1999-2000 she was awarded the Close-Up Foundation's Linda Myers Chozen Award for Teaching Excellence in Civic Education. Only five other educators across the nation received the honor that year. As first lady, she has championed children, early childhood education, literacy and many other worthy causes.

Edna Hennessee was born in Ryan, Oklahoma and raised on an Oklahoma cattle ranch during the Depression. She graduated from Union Valley High School in 1936 as valedictorian. After receiving a scholarship from Central State University in Edmond and finding a place to work for room and board, she still decided to go directly into the work force in Oklahoma City as the family would have to sell the cattle to buy her textbooks. While living in Oklahoma City, she received a gift that changed her life - Merle norman Cosmetics. Hennessee washed clothes at night and worked as a department store clerk during the day to pay the gift back. What began as a dream from a small gift of cosmetics grew into Cosmetic Specialty Labs, a family-owned and operated company serving more than 10,000 customers in all 50 states and 23 foreign countries. Read more HERE.

Suzanne Edmondson began a new career in 1996 as a corrections volunteer focusing ion issues affecting incarcerated women. She became a literacy tutor and began working weekly at Eddie Warrior Correctional Center, a minimum security facility housing about 650 women in Taft, OK. She founded the Friends of Eddie Warrior Foundationand through the foundation created a program called "Tales for the Rising Moon" in which inmates tape bedtime stories for their children at home. She also started a foundation to provide college scholarships to the women inmates at Eddie Warrior Correctional Center.

LaRita A. Aragonwas born in Dale, Oklahoma and became the first woman to hold the rank of brigadier general in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and the first female commander of the Air National Guard. After a distinguished career, Gen. Aragon retired and returned to her first career, in education where she serves as Director of Advanced Programs at the University of Oklahoma College of Continuing Education. Of Choctaw descent, er spirit exemplifies her service to her family and her country. Aragon serves on a number of boards and has been recognized many times for her contributions to her community, state and nation. She was named The Journal Record Oklahoma Woman of the Year in 2008.

Monday, March 02, 2009

The Stillwater NewsPress reports that OSU First Lady Ann Hargis has been "appointed the first member of the Payne County Youth Services’ Advisory Board for Sustainability and Public Awareness." Good move. Read the story here.

Janet Fender graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1974 with a degree in physics and astronomy. She credits an OU program at the time entitled "New Avenues for Women" that was funded by the National Science Foundation. Professor Betty Pollock led that program and taught a small group of women who were majors in the natural sciences. The teamwork skills she learned there Fender says helped her greatly in her career. (Would that be considered one of those "liberal affirmative action programs" Republicans want to abolish?)

Fender went on to earned a masters and doctorate degrees and today works as Chief Scientist with the Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in northern Virginia. She is also a member of the United Nations Space Surveillance Expert Group.

The University of Oklahoma's College of Arts & Sciences honored her recently as a Distinguished Alumni award winner. While she was in Oklahoma for the award ceremonies, The Oklahoman interviewed here. You can read the article and hear her speakby clicking here.